Each year, the Chesterton High School Music Department hosts their holiday concert consisting of many familiar and well-known Christmas songs. The concert consists of the CHS Band, Orchestra, and Choir. The concert began with two songs from the Combined CHS Bands, directed by Mr. Flodder. They began with a piece by the name of Fanfare for Christmas. The applause from the fanfare was followed by a piece called A Cowboy Christmas.
Once the combined band was finished, all of the CHS Choirs entered the stage to sing three pieces, directed by Ms.Morris. Starting off with a minor Christmas jingle by the name of Fum, Fum, Fum with soloists by sophomore Aubree Williams, junior Ryan Gray, and junior Cooper Fowler. Quickly after, the CHS Choir slowed things down with December In My Hometown. They finished with an upbeat piece called Walkin’ Down the Road to Bethlehem.
“Originally I was auditioning just to audition for the solo, but I was really excited to actually get it. It was so cool to get to perform it and it went really well,” said sophomore choir member and percussionist Aubree Williams.
After the roar of applause subsided, the Combine CHS Orchestra took the stage and performed two pieces, directed by Mr.Greiner. They began with a performance of a piece under the name of Glimpse of Winter. Followed by a performance of We Need A Little Christmas. The strings played in wondrous harmony.
Then, the Music Department spiced things up with the Percussion Ensemble. They began with the familiar song Carol of the Bells. They then continued in the playing of a melody by the name of Holiday Hoopla.
“Carol of the Bells was a variation of the original version of the piece you would normally hear with some small embellishments, and then Holiday Hoopla was a mash-up of a bunch of different Christmas songs. On Carol of the Bells, I played the glockenspiel and on Holiday Hoopla, I played the snare drum,” said Williams.
There was then a featured performance of the familiar Christmas song, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen. The performance consisted of 17 featured singers, a violin played by Hailey Jalovecky, and a bass played by Oliver Wilgocki.
Once the featured performance was finished, two advanced choirs, Camerata and Sandpipers, combined together to perform the well-known and loved, The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire). Once the Sandpipers exited the stage, Camerata and the Combo performed a fun piece called A Hand for Mrs. Claus.
The CHS Jazz band then took the stage to perform two pieces. They began with the household staple A Charlie Brown Christmas. They then performed their own version of the famous Good King Wenceslas now called Good Swing Wenceslas.
The finale included the entire CHS Music Department in two huge pieces. The first piece was named We Come A-Darkly Caroling. This long medley included very popular songs such as Hark The Harold Angels Sing, Jingle Bells, We Wish You A Merry Christmas, and many more. The cool thing is, that the songs have been changed to a minor key. The last piece performed for the night was the famous Hallejuah Chorus which the Music Department performs each year at the Winter Concert. Great job to the CHS Music Department!
